Banishing Hiccup
by muggleborn.dragon.ryder
Summary: What if Astrid had never thought of a way to encourage Hiccup to go after the Green Death? And what if Hiccup got banished when the defeated chief got back? What if the Green Death still existed? What if Hiccup was forced to live on Outcast Island and Toothless was supposed to be executed...?
1. How Could You?

**A/N: My new HTTYD story! :-) **

**WARNING: This fanfiction might, just possibly, get put on the back burner for another, or vice versa. Just a little warning, though I DON'T think that's going to happen. Try not to be astounded by my brilliance. (Lol, jk)**

* * *

Hiccup trembled as Stoick shouted, "EXILE!"

Astrid let out a cry and ran forward, but Spitelout wrapped his strong arms around her, preventing her from getting to Hiccup.

Hiccup found his courage and said quietly, "Please…just do a good thing and set Toothless free…."

"Why would I? He's as good as dead already!" Stoick yelled back harshly and Hiccup gasped as if he'd been doused with cold water.

"How could you?!" he cried.

There was absolute silence except for the overwrought boy's constant, accusing screams. "HOW COULD YOU?! HOW COULD YOU?!"

Spitelout let go of Astrid, who tumbled out of his arms, onto the sand and scrambled up, running over to Hiccup.

Tears streaming down his face, he struggled against Astrid's grip of iron.

"HOW COULD YOU?" He hollered as she moved her arms onto his tense shoulders, smoothing down the brown fur on his vest.

Stoick looked down on his son, and there was no love in his gaze. Pity for the pathetic creature before him, perhaps, but no love. "Take the boy away," he said softly and Spitelout came forward and hauled Hiccup away from Astrid, who let him go, letting her arms fall limp by her sides as they shoved Hiccup onto a boat and watched him sail out to sea to let Thor take care of him.


	2. Looking For Hiccup

Hiccup stared back in horror at the figure of his father, growing fainter and fainter.

He roved his gaze over his tribe, watching him with looks akin to disgust.

He locked eyes with Astrid, the only person who didn't look horrified or disdainful.

She mouthed two words: "I tried."

He mouthed back, "I know."

Then…

"Don't blame yourself, Astrid."

He turned back to his father and suddenly it the shock of it all came rushing back…

"How could you?" he demanded again. But there was no anger left to spare for his chief, just a kind of hopeless frustration.

Stoick the Vast watched his son slip away, becoming little more than a speck on the horizon, his last words ringing in Stoick's ears…

"How could you?"

As if he could no longer bear to be in his father's presence, all because Stoick had imprisoned the dragon!

That dragon deserved to die!

He would be fighting until he breathed his last, that beast would, straining to get at Hiccup.

Stoick couldn't understand it. What did that Night Fury want with his puny freak of a son?

Stoick could understand it if the Night Fury had seen him as a nice meal, but dragons had never eaten the Vikings themselves before, and, besides that, the Night Fury must have seen the exceptionally larger Vikings and thought they would make a much better food prospect than Hiccup.

So what could have caused the Night Fury's utter desperation to get to Hiccup?

It couldn't have been _friendship._

Stoick inwardly scoffed at the idea.

Dragons and Vikings – friends?!

No way!

Stoick refused to think about it anymore. It was starting to give him a headache.

He left the water's edge with 'how could you?' still ringing in his ears.

But he was haunted by the exact same question, except it was directed at Hiccup.

How could you, Hiccup? He thought sadly as he stomped back to his hut. How could you go out and betray your tribe that way?

And then you act as if _I'm _the traitor, all because I took the dragon and used him to help us find the nest!

All because that gigantic monster inside the nest accepted the Vikings I couldn't save as a peace offering and left us alone.

He swallowed. The thing still had to be killed.

Speaking of killing, Stoick had plans with a certain Night Fury…

* * *

That very same Night Fury meanwhile, struggled with the rope and chains that bound him.

_Nothing _was going to stop him from getting back to his human, who couldn't survive a day without either his protection or the measly protection those rotund humans in pointy helmets offered him.

He scratched at the thick leather muzzle, failing to get it off.

He took several ropes that bound him in his mouth, gave a sharp yank, and they snapped.

Footsteps sounded just outside the door.

The Night Fury's ears pricked up and he went still.

Then the red-bearded Viking came in, a gleaming axe in his hand. He smiled coldly. "Hello, devil."

Toothless did not deign to respond. He knew only three things then:

He had to get back to Hiccup.

This Viking had come to kill him.

The Night Fury was not going to let himself die today.

He pounced on the red-bearded man who waved the axe rather feebly. The Night Fury took a slight scrape on the jaw to toss the axe out of the way with his nose, as his mouth still had that irritating muzzle that Toothless guessed would quickly become the bane of his existence.

He stared down at the man who Hiccup had tried so desperately to protect,

"_No! No!" Hiccup screamed, hair falling into his large green eyes, wide with terror and desperation._

_Toothless, obedient until the end, closed his mouth, held his fire._

_Held his fire. For a human other than his boy._

_Then the Vikings had clearly been delighted, and smashed his face into the ground, muzzled him, chained him…_

_Then they had gone off to face the dragon queen, whom Toothless had not wanted to lead them to._

_He felt no love for Vikings, but he could not bear to watch the queen greedily devour another ship._

_Then he watched the red-bearded Viking survive, along with maybe ten others._

_They barely escaped with their lives…_

Toothless knew a dragon who had mercy on any human who had previously threatened him could end in no way but tragedy.

And yet he clung to the notion that Hiccup was not so bad and if he wanted Toothless to spare this man, Toothless would gladly do so.

But he had a rare moment of mercy and roared loudly, angrily, as best he could, at the red-bearded man.

The Viking flinched, expecting a blow.

Toothless clawed sharply at his face, drawing blood, then ran on and on, fast as he could, throwing out his wings and half running, half flying.

He could hear the Vikings yelling in those guttural shouts he despised, and he was nearly out into the sunlight…

A breeze lifted his ears and carried the scent of pine needles and wood to him…the smell of Hiccup!

His ears pricked up and he dove into the water, swimming as fast and far as he could, looking, looking for his boy.

* * *

**A/N: AAAND now Toothless knows Hiccup is somewhere out there in the ocean, but water often disguises scent, so Toothless will have a hard time locating Hiccup...Cliffhanger enough for ya ;-)? Yes, I know people despise cliffies, but I love them! Even if another author does it to me, I respect it. **

**Well...anyway...chapter 3 to follow!**


	3. Outcast Island

Hiccup saw Outcast Island in the distance and swallowed: his new home.

Gulping back his sorrow and wishing with everything in him that Toothless were there to face this with him, he settled down on his boat and waited for it to reach Outcast shores.

* * *

Hiccup awkwardly stepped off the boat, onto the gritty sand that had been wet down with seawater.

He swallowed back his nervousness and turned to see dozens of curious faces all staring at him.

He said nervously, "Um, hi."

"A HOOLIGAN ON OUR SHORES!"

"Quick, take up the arrows!"

"STOP!" Hiccup bellowed, shaking. He held his arms out in front of him in a placating gesture. "I'm…uh…well…I'm an Outcast, just like you."

A grimy man with a brown beard walked forward. He had a long, jagged scar across one cheek and his hair and beard were matted with saltwater and filth. He sized Hiccup up, giving him an up-and-down appraisal. Then he raised his eyebrows. "Stoick finally exiled his weakling of a son?"

Hiccup stepped up to the man, not caring that this Viking could snap him like a twig. "I am not a weakling. I'm a better Viking than some people here."

Then he turned on his heel and began going back to his boat.

"Stop him," the brown-haired man muttered to his companion, the one they called Savage.

Savage nodded and ran ahead. "Wait. Stop."

The weakling listened and stopped in his tracks, raising one eyebrow questioningly, arms folded. His expression required no words.

Savage said, "Come back. Come on back."

"Where else do you have to go, anyway?" he added.

The boy uncrossed his arms and allowed Savage to lead him back, but still kept his hands clenched into fists at his sides.

The brown-bearded man who had dubbed him the 'weakling' leaned over and extended a hand. His fingernails were unkempt and dirt was underneath them. "Hello…what's your name?"

"Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third," the boy said, his head held high and his shoulders back, his jaw clenched, looking, to be honest, quite proud of his title.

"Alvin the Treacherous," Alvin laughed, bowing mockingly. "Forgive me, I forgot myself in the presence of royalty."

Hiccup threw himself down on his knees. "No, please, sir, the pleasure is all mine. I am honored, Your Highness. I suppose you're merely being modest, and your real title is King of Filth and Rudeness?"

If he hadn't been insulting Alvin himself, the man confessed he actually would have chuckled. "Fine wit, boy," he said, grabbing Hiccup by the shoulder and dusting him off with a hand the size of a skillet.

Hiccup crossed his arms and said simply, "I don't like people trying to mock me."

His meaning could not have been clearer: _your insults aren't welcome. I am ten times smarter than you are._

"Nor do I," Alvin countered.

"But you seem to ask for it," Hiccup replied with a waspish intensity. "Any two cents' worth to add to this?"

Alvin could not decide whether to admire his wit or hate him for his mockery of the Outcast chief.

Whichever one he picked, it was clear: this small boy with a big title and a lot expected of him was not going to fit in on Outcast Island.

* * *

**A/N: No Toothless YET but...just you wait *evil grin* Well, I'm off to write more chapters :D sorry about how short they are, but I find the shorter they are, the easier they are to churn out, even if I have SEVERE writers' block.**


	4. Finding Hiccup

**A/N: I don't know what it is...I don't like this chapter that much...**

* * *

The next morning, shouts and screams woke Hiccup.

He sat upright in bed, threw off his covers, grabbed his dagger and ran out of the small hut he now lived in on Outcast Island and surveyed what was going on.

Dragons.

They were attacking, ripping apart houses and raining fire down on the struggling Outcasts below, looking for food to give to their queen.

Without a second thought, Hiccup called to the Outcasts, "Wait, stop!"

And he ran recklessly forward, towards the dragons.

Savage started forward to grab the boy back, some sort of instinct of protecting others kicking in, but Alvin held him back.

"There is a lesson to be learned for this boy," Alvin warned him.

Hiccup held out his hand to the nearest dragon's nose and the Nightmare cautiously leaned in to him, then nodded and licked Hiccup's cheek.

Then he roared at the other dragons, calling them off, too.

Hiccup whispered, "I promise you, all of you…you will live to see that dragon queen's demise, even if I have to bring it about myself."

The Vikings seemed to understand their queen? The dragons thought in wonder.

But they surrendered their fight and Hiccup said encouragingly, "That's it."

Then…

"What do you say you ditch the queen and join our side instead?"

That got at least half the dragons eagerly flying over to the Outcasts' side and Hiccup said, "Thank you, guys."

The ones who felt any last shred of loyalty to the queen began flying away, but they discontinued their attack.

With a little sigh of relief, Hiccup turned back to see the Outcasts all staring at him.

Alvin said, "Say…Hiccup, sonny?"

Hiccup said, "Yeah?"

"Can you do that with all dragons?"

"Fortunately, yes. Why?"

"Because…I was just thinking, dragons attack us all the time…"

"I don't think those will anymore," Hiccup said, pointing. "But if they don't leave, they have to be treated with the proper respect."

"What?"

Hiccup sighed in impatience. "Watch."

He walked straight up to the biggest dragon of the lot, a mean-looking glittery purple Thunderdrum.

He held his hand out for the dragon's nose, but the Thunderdrum hissed away.

"Oh, c'mon," Hiccup murmured. "I'm not gonna hurt you. You don't have to be afraid of us."

The Thunderdrum cautiously bent her great head and allowed Hiccup to touch her.

Alvin's eyes widened. He thought this day could get no weirder.

But get weirder, it had.

Because just then, a sopping wet, black-as-night _Night Fury_ had just crawled out the water.


	5. Kill the Night Fury

**A/N: Well, here's Chapter 5! Chapter 6 is ready to go, but I'm hoping for some more views/reviews before 6 gets put up. **

* * *

The Night Fury ran right up to Hiccup and Alvin yelled, "Behind you!"

Hiccup jumped and turned, but, to Alvin's intense surprise, Hiccup ran right up to the dragon and hugged him.

The dragon had a thick leather muzzle on.

And a good thing, too, Alvin thought. Without it, it would have singed us.

Hiccup was nearly in tears, he was so delighted with the Night Fury. "Oh, Toothless, Toothless, you're back! I thought for sure Dad was gonna…" he trailed off, and his pale, freckled face darkened just a little. "Anyway…" he shook his head, and the sudden shadow lifted. His crooked teeth glinted a little as he smiled again and then the smile dropped off his face.

"Let's get this muzzle off you, boy," he muttered.

"NO!" Alvin shouted, running forward. "He's going to kill us all!"

"Shut up," Hiccup advised him. "Just watch." He unbuckled the muzzle and Toothless happily blew fire out over the sea for a few seconds.

Hiccup hugged him around the neck again, and the Night Fury's tongue licked Hiccup's cheek.

Hiccup smiled, pulled away, wiped off the dragon saliva and said, "It's great to have you back, Toothless."

Toothless turned, saw the Outcasts, and began to growl.

"No!" Hiccup pleaded. "No, don't!" He ran in front of the Night Fury that he had obviously dubbed 'Toothless'.

"They're friends," Hiccup pleaded with the stubborn dragon.

Toothless relaxed a little, but still watched the Outcasts with suspicious green eyes.

"Now, look here," Alvin said in a politer tone than usual, for if this boy had a Night Fury to back him up, there was something to be said for politeness towards him. "What's going on here? I mean…" He gestured, a little helplessly, at the Night Fury.

Savage and some other Outcasts raised bows and arrows against the dragon.

Hiccup said, "No!" And he threw himself in front of the dragon.

Threw himself in front of the dragon.

Alvin was in shock.

How could that boy sacrifice himself for the unholy offspring of lightning and death?

"Toothless," he said. "Calm down, bud."

Then, as if thinking he could perhaps _fight _the Outcasts, he drew his last hope: a small dagger with a slightly blunt and very rusted-over blade.

He held it in front of him with his pale, long-fingered left hand, green eyes dark with fear and hate, and he waited.

Savage pulled back the string on his arrow and got ready to let it fly.


	6. I Can Show You

"Stop!" Alvin hollered hastily. "Don't shoot, Savage."

Savage lessened his grip on the bowstring and gave his chief a questioning look.

Alvin approached Hiccup with Toothless eyeing him warily.

Alvin noted Hiccup did not sheathe his dagger, and knew then that Hiccup had little to no trust in him…. As he shouldn't, of course.

Hiccup stepped very slightly in front of Toothless again, his eyes never leaving Alvin's face.

Alvin leaned forward, his hot, rancid breath on Hiccup's face. He very slowly breathed out, "You DID say that works on all dragons?"

Hiccup sheathed his dagger. "Yes."

Alvin said, "And you stopped the attacks on our island? For good?"

Hiccup seemed to think it over for a second; he bit his lip and his eyes made him look a million miles away. Finally, he turned to Alvin and very slowly nodded.

"Can you show us what you do?"

Hiccup tried to remember if Berk had a grudge against Outcasts or not, but he had never really listened to Gobber's spirited stories of battles against other tribes, and now he was regretting it.

If only he could remember whether or not Outcasts were to be trusted!

But he shoved this thought deeper down.

Did it really matter if Berk hated Outcasts? He didn't belong on Berk anymore.

He was an Outcast.

* * *

Alvin dragged Hiccup away and toward a Zippleback that had stayed behind after the attack. "Show me." Then, after a hasty glance back at the distrustful Night Fury, who was quietly following them, he quickly added, as though it were an awful swear, "Please."

Hiccup nodded silently. He didn't much care whether Outcasts knew how to train dragons or not.

He stepped towards the Zippleback and as he did, he coached Alvin. "You've got to make eye contact. That's essential when training a dragon. It shows the dragon that he can trust you and that you won't hurt him. This is just what I did with that Thunderdrum I showed you guys. If you paid attention there, you might notice I'm doing much the same thing here."

Alvin remembered that dragon.

Alvin was a little befuddled by the way the boy kept referring to the dragon as a 'he' and not an 'it' but whatever floated that little weakling's boat.

Hiccup held both his hands out, one for each of the Zippleback's heads. "The dragon will allow you to touch his snout, only if he trusts that you won't hurt him. It's better if you drop your head here."

"And risk getting your hand bitten off?" Alvin couldn't resist saying scathingly.

Hiccup dropped his head and hissed, "Be quiet, I'm making a connection, here!"

Alvin shut up.

Hiccup lifted his head as the dragon pulled away and eyed him.

Then the dragon lowered his great heads to allow Hiccup to climb on his back.

Hiccup slid over the left head and said, "Very well, then, just a quick little jaunt…just show them what you got."

The Zippleback nodded, threw his heads back, let out an earsplitting roar, and took to the air.

As they zoomed around Outcast Island, Hiccup and the dragons heard sounds of great shock and surprise.

When finally the Zippleback landed, and Hiccup climbed off looking very windswept indeed, Alvin ran over to him.

"What did you—_how _did you—?"

Hiccup smiled. "We just bonded."

And there seemed to be something in him now, something more than pride; genuine happiness, but more than that. There was a deep confidence within himself, within his abilities.

Hiccup's silhouette was outlined by sunlight and his hair fell into his sparkling green eyes and he stared Alvin directly in the eyes, without fear or caution.

And he merely said, "I can show you."

* * *

**A/N: *Sob* NOOOOOOOOO Hiccup, don't show Alvin the secret of training dragons! NOOOOOOOOO he is not to be trusted!**

**LOL. Sorry. Go about your business.**


	7. His First Real Friend

**A/N: Here's Chapter 7...kinda Stoick's musings on Hiccup and Toothless and Gobber showing Stoick how foolish and pigheaded he was.**

* * *

Stoick thought of the last he'd seen of that Night Fury…it was pathetic, really, purely pathetic the way he thought so much of his son and the dragon.

Where had the dragon gone? Surely to hunt down Hiccup; he just seemed so obsessed with finding the boy.

And when he found him – Stoick couldn't help feeling a jolt of uneasiness here – what would the dragon do?

If he did anything to Hiccup, hurt or killed him, it would be Stoick's fault, and his alone.

_He _had pretty much sentenced Hiccup to death out there.

He wondered where Hiccup was now…surely he wasn't stupid enough to try and go to Outcast Island, would he?

Stoick knew he'd never actually told Hiccup that there was anything openly wrong with the Outcasts, but he'd still made it clear that he disliked them, and even went as far as to say he loathed their chief, Alvin.

Alvin the Treacherous. Stoick closed his eyes.

If Alvin got a hold of Hiccup, what would happen to the boy?

Alvin didn't show mercy on anyone. Not his friends…

Not his followers…

And to his enemies, he was deeply cruel.

Stoick shuddered to think what would happen to his son if he fit in any of those categories, most particularly the last.

Gobber stumped over to Stoick at that very moment. "What are you thinking about?" he asked him.

Vikings rarely discussed feelings, but Stoick made an exception, just this once.

"I'm worried about Hiccup," he admitted, then immediately wished he could cut out his own tongue. He'd sworn to himself that his son's name would never pass his lips again.

Gobber sighed, and it was a sound loaded with the pain of centuries. "Maybe you shouldn't have banished him, then."

"I had to, Gobber!" Stoick said desperately. "How could I allow him to stay on Berk, knowing what I know? How could I allow him to stay, being the way he is, having a dragon for a pet?"

"It wasn't a pet, Stoick," Gobber told him sadly. "It was much, much more than that to him. I think it was his first real friend."


	8. Everything Is Different Now

**A/N: Well, for all those leaving reviews asking about Astrid, here it is! I actually asked myself 'what can happen with Astrid?' while writing chapter 7. LOL. **

* * *

Astrid saw Stoick and Gobber talking, out by the water's edge. She came up to Stoick and faced him, planting herself in front of him, her hands on her hips.

"Sir," she began courteously, "I respect you deeply as a chief. But I lost my respect for you when you banished your own son. May I have permission to leave the island? I cannot serve a chief I do not care for."

Stoick looked down at her for a second, stroking his beard. Her comment about Hiccup had cut him deeply, and he wasn't sure how best to deal with her. Finally, he said, "You may leave the island." The awful part was, he could see her point about being unable to serve a chief she had no respect for.

He swallowed as she walked away.

* * *

Astrid did not go by boat. Instead, she walked fearlessly into the Kill Ring, where she slowly but surely led the Nadder out of her cage. The Nadder had particularly fascinated Astrid since she had heard of the breed, and it sent a shiver of excitement down her spine to think of riding one.

She held out her hand to the Nadder's nose, as Hiccup had taught her to.

The Nadder pressed her nose against Astrid's skin and the blonde Viking smiled.

She said softly, "You think you'll let me ride you, girl? I want to get back to my…friend." She sincerely hesitated on the last word. Were she and Hiccup friends, or not?

It seemed they were, but how could she explain the feeling that had reared up inside her when she kissed his pale, freckled cheek? How could she explain how happy she had felt, how content?

Her arms had been around his skinny waist and for a brief second, all was right in the world.

But now everything was upside down: Hiccup was gone, banished, and she was leaving, too.

Leaving to join him.

The thought actually gave her pleasure. It actually brought a smile to her face. A day or two ago, being offered the chance to ride off into the sunset on a Nadder, looking for Hiccup, who had previously been banished, would terrify/irk/disgust her in a number of ways.

Everything was different now.

And with that last, slightly bittersweet thought, she climbed up onto the Nadder's back.


	9. I'm Crazy and You Go Along With Me

**A/N: Well, here's Chapter 9, which I deemed smart enough to get put up here. This chapter is pure Hiccstrid fluff, guys...get used to it!**

* * *

By the end of the day, Outcasts and dragons were – get this – _bonding._

Hiccup had introduced Alvin and some of his men to the dragons, who had been more than happy to let them stroke and pet and ride them once they realized the Outcasts were sincerely not going to hurt them.

Even a particularly stupid Gronckle allowed Alvin to pet him once or twice.

The only problem? Toothless STILL didn't like Alvin.

He was incredibly protective of Hiccup on this island full of strangers, perhaps more so after what had happened on Berk, and now this man showed up, and Toothless just sensed he wanted to do Hiccup harm.

He had been so polite to Hiccup after he had been introduced to the Night Fury, perhaps because he knew just how protective Toothless was, and just a rude comment could be perceived as a threat through this dragon's eyes.

Hiccup tried getting his dragon to relax but eventually gave up and concluded that if Toothless thought Alvin was bad news, he most likely was.

No matter. Hiccup was always on guard around the man, anyway.

Toothless growled slightly as Alvin approached, and Alvin jumped back slightly, showing the dragon what a wide berth he was giving Hiccup.

Hiccup chuckled. "Toothless…"

The smile slipped off his face a little as a black speck appeared in the sky.

"What the—?" He muttered.

* * *

Astrid flew over island after island, and finally her eyes landed on one her mother had told her frightening tales of: _Outcast Island._

To think of her mother saddened her, and made her feel homesick.

She shook off her grief; she could always come back to visit her parents, but she could not stay on Berk, under the rule of that pigheaded chief!

A smile forced the corners of her mouth upwards, and it was a smile heavy with irony.

To think that she – young, bright, beautiful focused Astrid Hofferson – had run off to meet a _boy _must be greatly amusing to the other residents of Berk.

If life could ever run smoothly or normally on Berk again after what had happened, she wondered who would take her place as top dragon killer.

Maybe Fishlegs. He knew an awful lot about dragons and he would be a likely candidate.

Far likelier, than, say, the twins or Snotlout.

As she looked down over Outcast Island, she saw a huge, dark shape with wings on its shores!

She instantly recognized it as Toothless, and quickly flew lower. Wherever Toothless was, Hiccup couldn't be far behind.

She landed the Nadder and saw Hiccup stroking Toothless and the Night Fury was purring.

Hiccup, so involved in chatting to Toothless, did not notice Astrid.

"I wonder how the people on Berk are doing," Hiccup was mumbling.

Astrid came up behind him as he mumbled, "I wonder how my dad's doing…"

She gave him a light, quick tap on the shoulder.

He jumped and spun around.

She punched him as hard as she could on said shoulder, leaving him to actually fall to the ground from the blow, clutching his arm.

She giggled; she couldn't help it. He just looked so funny, there on the ground!

She reached out a hand to help him up, but he used it to pull her down with him.

There they were their heads bent together, golden and copper, her blue eyes and his deep green ones sparkling in the sunlight.

And suddenly Astrid appreciated just how crazy things were right now.

She had left Berk for Hiccup, once the screw-up and now the one boy she ever had fantasies about, and she lay on the sand of Outcast Island with him now, laughing her heart out in delight that she was with him once more.

Then she squeezed his hand as the smile slipped off her face. "We're a pretty crazy duo, huh?"

Hiccup smiled at her. "_I'm _crazy. You're just crazy enough to go along with me."

Astrid smiled and leaned closer to him until their foreheads were touching. "Well, it's not every day I meet a cute boy who rides dragons."

She gave him a quick peck on the cheek and stood and so did he.

Then she said, "Oh, and one more thing…"

"Yeah?"

She punched him in the shoulder as hard as she could. "Why the _hell _are we on Outcast Island?"


	10. The Dragon Queen

Hiccup, rubbing his shoulder, explained everything to her.

She stared at him and said, "Hiccup, you showed the Outcasts how to train dragons?"

Hiccup shrugged. "Berk won't listen. The Outcasts here will."

Astrid sighed sadly.

Suddenly, Alvin cried, "TAKE COVER!"

He threw himself down on the ground, as did the other Outcasts on the island, leaving Hiccup and Astrid standing there like they had bright red targets on their backs.

Hiccup knelt down on the sand and tugged Astrid down, too.

"C'mon," he said. "If Alvin wants us to get down, he probably has good reason."

"I don't trust him," Astrid snapped – well, mouthed.

Hiccup mouthed back, "I know."

But they both lay quietly on the sandy beach for a few minutes until they saw what Alvin's dark, quick eyes had seen before them.

A huge, truly huge sight…teeth thicker than Hiccup's whole body, longer than Alvin's arm, sharper than any sword.

Astrid stared in shock up at it for a second, and a startling flash of recognition filled both teens at exactly the same time and they glanced at each other.

Hiccup's low, startled voice and Astrid's blunt, clear one rang out across the island as the dragon's great wings caught the sunlight, its body pale from having been shut up too long.

"The dragon queen," the blonde girl and the red-headed boy said together.


	11. I Have My Ways

"Where is she going?" Hiccup asked, watching the great beast soar overhead, towards a distant speck on the horizon.

Astrid squinted in the direction it was flying. "It looks kinda like…Berk," she said decisively, then her eyes widened as she realized it was most likely going to attack her home, and the parents she had left behind with only a thoroughly unabashed note to explain her absence.

Hiccup swallowed.

Silence reigned between the two for a minute and Hiccup said quietly to himself, "Ok. This is really bad."

Alvin, standing up, too, said, looking confused, "You two know this beast?"

"It's the dragon's queen," Hiccup explained. "It controls the dragons, like bees in a beehive. It's disgusting, it really is. And my dad – the chief – well, he tried to attack it, and it got angry and ate some of his men, but Dad and some others got away with their lives. But some…weren't so lucky."

To his intense surprise, Alvin actually began to chuckle. "Oh, that's just perfect," he said. "And so that dragon can take care of Berk and we'll be sitting pretty, huh?"

Hiccup's green eyes seemed to flash. "That's not funny," he said, his jaw set, his face white. "Don't you dare say—

"But don't you see, Hiccup?" Alvin needled. "They abandoned you! They banished you, to let Thor take care of you and they're about to get wiped out! They're about to get what's COMING to them, my dear boy."

Hiccup did not waver. "I don't care," he said. "They don't deserve to die that way!"

Then, it seemed, a light bulb clicked on. "That's it," he murmured. "That's it!"

He ran towards Toothless and Astrid did, too.

"No, Astrid," Hiccup told her, and she planted a hand on her hip.

"If you're gonna try to tell me not to fight, I—

"Use your Nadder instead," Hiccup said, jerking his copper head towards the bright blue dragon Astrid had ridden to the island. "We need as much backup as we can get." Then he sent her that goofy smile that had always secretly been her favorite, because it was the smile he used only for her.

She smiled back at him and ran to get on the Nadder, whose name she had been thinking of. She had just about settled on "Stormfly".

However, today she had more pressing matters on her mind than the name of her dragon, and she hopped on the Nadder without a second thought.

"Wait," Hiccup said, reluctantly dragging himself off Toothless. "Let's switch dragons."

"Why?"

"Because you didn't bring anything to help you hold on during the flight," he explained. "I know you're capable of flying without a saddle and harness and all that stuff, but I'd feel a lot better if you used it."

"So why can't you just give me the saddle?"

"It's made for a Night Fury, not a Nadder. Every dragon is different."

With a shrug, Astrid muttered, "Fine." Then, as she made to climb on Toothless, she turned to him. "How will you hold on?"

Hiccup remembered all the times he'd fallen off Toothless so painfully, and he winked at her. "I have my ways."

* * *

**A/N: XD Another cliffie :D Don't hate me**


	12. The Boy She's Obligated to Keep Safe

Astrid and Hiccup set off, never speaking.

"Do you have a plan?" She asked.

Hiccup shook his head and clung to the Nadder's neck.

Without a saddle or harness, it had made for quite a bumpy ride.

Hiccup called over to her, "I kinda thought I'd fly by the seat of my pants. Why? Got any suggestions?" he asked hopefully.

She shook her head. "Not a one."

When they got there, Hiccup and Astrid switched dragons, because Hiccup was not very happy with the idea of her fighting and he secretly hoped she might get removed from the action.

He also chucked a rope at her.

She smiled. "What's this for?"

"So you can hang on next time you and the Nadder take to the sky."

She nodded and he came over to help her tie it on the dragon.

As they stood there, Stoick came over to them and Toothless growled.

Hiccup looked up, saw Stoick, and literally flinched.

He ran over to Toothless and climbed on the dragon's back just before Stoick reached them.

"What are they doing here?" Stoick demanded angrily of Astrid as Hiccup took off on Toothless into the gray sky.

Astrid put her hands on her hips, refusing to back down. "He's trying to save Berk, including your sorry Viking butt," she said harshly. "Personally, I wouldn't. You don't deserve him for a son. Not after all he's done."

"Like betraying his tribe?"

Astrid had started getting on the Nadder, but here she paused, half on and half off the dragon's back. She said without hesitation, "Like being a beautiful, beautiful person. Don't ask me how, but somehow, you raised a brilliant, sweet, compassionate boy who loves you, despite how little you care for him. And he would do anything, anything for you, to please you, to make you proud! Don't you realize that, Stoick, or am I gonna have to beat it into your thick skull?"

Stoick didn't reply; for once, he was at a loss for words.

And so Astrid and him spoke no more as she mounted her Nadder and they shot up into the sky, following the only boy she felt obligated to chase and keep safe.

* * *

**A/N: You go, Astrid! Tell Stoick off! LOL. **


	13. The Battle of the Green Death

Stoick watched as the girl and her dragon shot up into the sky, and then his eyes shifted to the darker pair: Hiccup and Toothless.

His son and the Night Fury.

It seemed so foolish of him, to simply think that Hiccup was a good dragon killer!

He recalled Gobber's exact words just mere weeks ago: "He has this way with the beasts."

Now? Well, now, Stoick knew that THAT was lies. Disgusting lies.

It had all been a simple ploy to hide what Hiccup truly was: a freak, and well deserving of his banishment.

How could you, Hiccup? Stoick thought desperately. Why did you come back in the first place? You can't save Berk at all!

You're just a kid! Don't try anything stupid, now, Hiccup. Be safe, now, Hiccup.

* * *

Hiccup stared at the dragon queen for a second, knowing of her ability to fly now, but unsure of her weaknesses.

He'd read somewhere that a Whispering Death's only weakness was sunlight, and this dragon seemed to have been kept in the dark for so long, like a plant that had tried to grow without proper care.

Hiccup thought for a second, long and hard. "How?" He whispered, brain pulsing. "How?"

Suddenly, it came back to him.

"_Not so fireproof on the inside, are ya?"_

His green eyes widened. The Terrible Terror. The Terrible Terror on the beach, that Toothless had nearly blown up.

Hiccup saw the dragon queen and thought to himself _does it work with only smaller dragons?_

"Only one way to find out," he muttered, hoisted himself up higher in Toothless' saddle, and he said, "Toothless, you ready to irritate that thing a little?"

Astrid swooped in and called to him, "Hiccup! What do we do now?"

"Uh…I've got an idea, Astrid!" Hiccup called. "I don't need you to fight, but it'd be great if you could annoy the queen for a few minutes, ok?"

Astrid nodded. She was ready. She was ready for anything.

Astrid called to the dragon queen, as loudly as she dared, "Hey, you ugly brute! You look like the bride of Frankenstein! You could do with some sunlight!"

Hiccup swung, just out of her reach, dangling from Toothless' saddle, a fly she wanted to swat, swat with her great, leathery, pale wings.

Hiccup smiled as he saw her spread her wings and take to the sky.

Hiccup watched her, the wind ruffling his hair as she passed and came to hover in the air above him, building up a fire blast that would surely, surely eliminate this pitiful gnat that had come to irritate her.

Hiccup waited until the green gas came out of her mouth and hovered lazily in the air…would it work? Would it work?

"NOW!" Hiccup cried, and Toothless shot a quick, blue fire blast right at the dragon queen, and it landed directly in her mouth, illuminating the pink, fleshy throat, white at the back and going whiter all the way down, until it finally reached the end and she began choking on it.

Hiccup knew they had one chance to get away from the explosion, and so did Toothless.

Toothless threw himself forward, desperate to save his friend's life, and his own.

When at last they reached the ground, they pulled out of their dive sharply.

The dragon queen, who had been following them, was not so lucky.

She crashed, full on crashed, into the pebbly ground and exploded into a ball of fire.

The main explosion was at her throat, but the flames licked up her spines and tracked the frantically flying Night Fury, who was weaving through her spines like the trees in a forest.

Hiccup and Toothless were so close when they both looked up and saw the tail…

The tail had a large, spiked ball at the end of it.

Before Hiccup could think anything else besides, _this is really bad, _the tail hit him.

He felt the impact, nearly shattering his skull and he felt himself lose grip on Toothless' saddle, but everything was going black.

The only things he registered were Toothless' frantic roars as he realized both dragon and rider were going down and the heat all around him, the flames licking up the dragon queen's body as he fell into them.


	14. You're Gonna Be Alright

When the dust cleared, Stoick stepped forward, calling Hiccup's name through the falling ash, but Astrid edged ahead of him and shouted over Stoick, crawling through the rubble to get to Hiccup.

"HICCUP!" Astrid cried, her voice echoing over the ruins of Berk. "Hiccup! Come back to us!"

She edged even closer and saw only Toothless through the thickly falling ash, his wings furled tight about his body.

She knew she ought to be grateful that at least one had survived, but she couldn't make herself feel anything but sorrow that it hadn't been Hiccup.

She wanted to care for the dragon, and be glad he was still alive, but Toothless only had a vague trust in her; Astrid and Toothless harbored little affection for one another.

She laid a hand on his scaly, dark head and said quietly, "I'm sorry."

It had to be harder for Toothless, who had been Hiccup's first real friend.

Toothless shook his head as if wondering why she was upset, and then he seemed to understand her and opened his wings.

There lay Hiccup, nestled next to the dragon.

Toothless uncurled his limbs from around Hiccup's small body, and Astrid tentatively reached out to grasp Hiccup's small hand.

At least he recovered Hiccup's body, Astrid thought desperately as tears streamed down her face. At least he wasn't blown to bits. At least we can give him the proper Viking funeral he deserves.

But Toothless still didn't seem satisfied, and nudged Hiccup closer to her with his nose.

Astrid picked up his body and let herself hope one last time as she put her ear to his thin chest.

And in Hiccup's chest, she heard a noise she had not expected to hear.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

The unmistakable sound of a heartbeat.

Astrid was so delighted; more tears leaked out of her beautiful blue eyes and fell down her pale cheeks.

She smiled through her tears and shouted, so the whole of Berk could hear it, "HE'S ALIVE!"

She clutched Hiccup's small body close to her as the island echoed with her voice, her joyful words and carried them to the great god Thor, as if telling him he had failed in an attempt to kill the hiccup.

Astrid allowed her lips to gently brush Hiccup's cheek, travel across his forehead, and kiss his hair as she whispered to herself, "You're alive. You're gonna be alright."


	15. By Your Side

**A/N: Ok, about two lines in the second scene, it becomes what Astrid remembers of the past week. That's why it's in italics. **

* * *

"Astrid!" Her mother flew over to her the very second she reached her house. She had left Hiccup's bedside to face her parents, knowing they would act this way.

"Mom!" Astrid protested, fighting the hug. "Yeah, Mom, we're FINE, I'm fine…"  
"Zeen," she interrupted her daughter, nearly sobbing. "She's back!"

"Astrid," her father said, brow furrowed, "why?"

Astrid faced her father without the slightest sign of fear. "I couldn't do it. I refuse to serve a chief who's got his head up his rear end."

There was a tense silence, and then her mother broke it by laughing, which Astrid had not expected.

* * *

Astrid stood by Hiccup's bedside with Stoick, Gobber, Gothi, and of course, Toothless.

The Night Fury had refused to leave Hiccup's side, even to fly or eat.

If he was hungry and someone offered him fish, he ate it right there beside Hiccup and kept his eyes trained on the boy throughout the meal.

Astrid stroked Toothless and fed him, but never offered him to fly him, for neither girl nor Night Fury wanted to.

Hiccup's breathing was regular, and he seemed to be doing ok, but Gothi said otherwise the moment they reached her.

_She took one look at Hiccup and wrote a single word in the dirt with her staff._

_Gobber winced as he read it, thinking of the days that he'd lost his own limbs._

_"What is she saying, Gobber?" Stoick demanded._

_Gobber swallowed. "Amputation."_

_"What?" he gasped._

_Astrid's fists clenched a little tighter, but otherwise she gave no sign that she had heard what fate awaited Hiccup now._

_"That leg is going to have to come off."_

_"But—no!" Stoick protested, almost angrily, but mostly shocked. "No! Hiccup can't lose his—_

_"Stoick, there comes a time when you have to choose life over limb," Gobber said steadily. "You didn't see my dad bawling when I lost my arm or leg, did you?"_

_"This is different, Gobber!" Stoick reprimanded. "You were nineteen then! Hiccup is only sixteen years old. And he's weaker than you are, Gobber—_

_"No." The word had come from both Astrid and Gobber._

_Stoick glanced between the two of them, surprised._

_The two blonde Vikings glanced at each other, too, and despite the tragedy that awaited their little hiccup, they both smiled._

_Gobber said, "Do you want to set him straight, or shall I?"_

_"I will," Astrid said, and turned to Stoick. "Hiccup is the strongest person I know. He may be no bigger than a fishbone, but he really is strong. I mean, c'mon. Who else can say they've trained a dragon?"_

_"Training a dragon isn't a sign of strength," Stoick interrupted._

_"Getting along with your enemy makes you stronger than killing it," Gobber said and Stoick knew then that the moment Gobber had found out about Toothless he had understood something Stoick had not._

_The three Vikings glanced at one another, exchanged tense smiles, then very slowly, Stoick picked Hiccup very gently and began walking to the house._

_With a look shared between them, Gobber and Astrid followed him, Astrid's parents refusing to leave her side._


	16. Just Keep Yourself Safe

"Hiccup's scared you're still mad, I think," Gobber murmured to Stoick, watching as Gothi wrote in the dirt with her staff, and Hiccup tossed and turned in the bed.

Finally, he opened his emerald green eyes and sat up.

He looked drowsily around the room and said quietly, "Toothless? Toothless, bud, where are you?"

Toothless came over and nudged him.

Hiccup smiled.

Then he turned to his father, and the smile slipped off his face.

He made to get out of bed, but Gobber said, "Easy, son."

Hiccup glanced around. "Where's Astrid?"

Astrid stepped out of the corner of the room. "I'm here, Hiccup."

Hiccup took her hand and said with a frightening intensity, "Listen to me."

She nodded.

"Listen. I don't know why Dad hasn't killed Toothless yet, but please take him somewhere safe. Ok? Hide him out until I can come there, too, I'll come there on your Nadder. Ok?"

Astrid started to protest. "But, Hiccup—

"Shh…" He put a finger on her lips. "Just keep yourself and Toothless safe."

Then he eased back into unconsciousness.


	17. Taking It Back

Hiccup awoke and looked around the room.

There was a single empty chair beside his bed.

He sat up farther; he was glad he was alone to mull over everything that he could remember.

Toothless suddenly swooped down from the ceiling and moaned at him happily.

Hiccup smiled weakly. "Hey, bud." Then the smile slid off his face. "Oh, no."

He quickly threw off the covers. "Toothless, I'm sorry, I know you probably haven't slept. But we've got to get out of here, now."

He made to get out of bed, but fell to his knees and gave a sharp cry.

Spreading his legs out in front of him, he found he would never again use the word 'legs' in the plural to describe what he had.

It was one leg and then, in the other trouser leg – nothing at all.

Nothing, that is, below the knee.

From the knee down, there was a prosthetic leg, an imposter made of wood and metal.

There was a long silence in which Hiccup did nothing but stare.

"I owe them, then," Hiccup said aloud, dejectedly. The first words since he'd seen the leg. "I owe the people of Berk, then, don't I, Toothless?"

He looked at the dragon. "Well…not everyone, just Gobber. He's the one who fitted me with a prosthetic leg, after all. Without him, I wouldn't be able to walk."

Hiccup hesitated, staring down at the metal contraption. He at last rose from the floor and stumbled over to Toothless' saddle. "Ok, bud. Let's go."

He sat down in the saddle, but Toothless wasn't moving.

"Toothless?"

Hiccup got down and said, "Bud, I hate to tell you this, but stay here, and you'll be killed! C'mon."

But before another word could be said, the door opened and Stoick's voice floated in. "I'm gonna try to get him to eat something today, if he wakes up."

Stoick came in with Gobber, and they both backed off upon seeing Hiccup awake.

Hiccup said softly, "Hey, dad."

Utter silence.

Hiccup's stomach clenched and he said, "I'll leave. Right now, if you like. Only Toothless wasn't going, so I was just about to try to convince him to go, and you guys came in."

Then he added, "Thank you for not hurting Toothless. And thank you for making me a prosthetic, Gobber."

In one swift motion, great, hairy Stoick the Vast swept Hiccup up into his arms and hugged him tightly.

Only Hiccup saw the tears leaking out of his father's gray eyes and into his beard.

Hiccup gave him a weak smile.

"Hiccup, I took back the banishment. And the…"

"The disowning?"

"Yes."

Hiccup burst into tears.

* * *

**A/N: Ok, shameless Disney ending! Just going to edit chapter 18, which is the LAST ONE and then I'll post it and it will be over! :-)**

**Please ignore how out-of-character Hiccup and Stoick were in this scene :/ I realize there probably wouldn't have been that much crying if Dreamworks had done it, but to be honest, the banishment had been really hard on both Hiccup AND Stoick, and both of them were totally ready to just make sure things were alright between each other again.**

**Also, keep in mind, nothing was ever spoken about how Stoick casually disowned Hiccup, so that's part of the reason why both of them are kinda weepy.**

**Gah, this is a long AN. Sorry! **


	18. The End

**A/N: Thanks for all your support, reviews, favorites and follows. :-) You guys rock!**

* * *

After a lengthy talk between Stoick and Hiccup, (halfway through which Gobber awkwardly edged out the door, afraid he would be asked to join in) Stoick brightened. "You should come look outside!"

"Why?"

"We're rebuilding Berk."

When Hiccup stumbled out, he saw everyone working with the dragons…the dragons that weren't on Outcast Island, anyway.

Suddenly, Hiccup went very still. The Outcasts!

They knew the secret of training dragons, didn't they?

"Dad?"

"Yeah?"

"I…nothing."

A crowd came over to them and began asking Hiccup questions.

Hiccup nervously answered them, at least until a certain blonde girl came up and parted the crowd.

She had smudges of dirt on her face and a hammer in one hand, which she raised rather threateningly upon seeing Hiccup.

But all she did was chuck it away and poke him, hard, in the chest. "You look me in the eye, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third, and you swear to me you won't scare me like that again!"

Then she socked him.

"Okay," Hiccup said, rubbing his arm. "Thanks for the greeting."

She smiled mischievously, grabbed him by the collar of his green tunic, and kissed him full on the lips.

"Ok," the dazed Hiccup mumbled when she pulled away. "Thanks for the greeting."

She grinned as Stoick pulled him aside to talk with him.

The road to rebuilding and redoing and, most importantly, recovering, was long…hard…treacherous.

But Vikings and dragons would do it together. Couldn't they?

* * *

**A/N: AAAAAND we're done here! Thanks again for your support, guys! :-) I'm off to work on a NEW HTTYD story *cough, cough* and leave you guys to chew on this one! No more chapters! After this, it's complete!**

**However, some of you may have noticed how I mentioned the Outcasts still knowing how to train dragons. One problem down, one to go. That's just to keep the fanfiction open for a sequel, if enough people like the idea and if I can think of enough things to keep it going past the first few chapters. Well, then, I guess this is where we part!**

**THE END**


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